Reverse Church Marketing

Mark Tidsworth, Team Leader

There are churches who want to avoid conversation about race, money, politics, gender roles AND want more young people to join them. People under age 40 will write them off as irrelevant and afraid right quick.

It’s funny. Jesus was just the opposite; jumping right into the deep end from the start. We can visualize the disciples standing offstage right, cringing each time Jesus starts up again. “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25, NRSV) One of them works up the courage to catch Jesus’ eye, giving him the “cut” sign, suggesting he move on to another topic. “Surely he knows,” they are thinking, “this is not the way to fill the pews and increase the budget. We may even lose people at just the time we are trying to build this movement.” And Jesus went right on preaching the gospel.

What did Jesus know that we do not know? Why did so many people follow him then and continue to do so now when he violates the premises of good marketing? Churches dedicate so much time, effort, and resources to being relevant and attractive…why would they want to imitate Jesus? Wouldn’t this undo the work of church marketing or membership committees?

Relevant = “appropriate to the current time, period,

or circumstances; of contemporary interest.”

-Google Dictionary

Yes, Jesus knew something we also know, but prefer to ignore. Relevancy and attractiveness when it comes to the gospel of Jesus Christ have so little to do with traditional marketing techniques. Relevancy is not about musical style nor the speed of Livestream delivery systems. Relevancy is not established when we dress down or up for worship nor when we install screens in the sanctuary. All these things are simply trends, window-dressing if you will, which come and go. The relevancy of the gospel is often submerged below the noise and confusion of our misguided attempts.  

Right about now, in this crazy time, is when we need the relevant and timely gospel of Jesus Christ to shine through our churches and into this world. Perhaps we can start with these three moves.

Relevance grows when we honestly and openly engage the issues of our lives.

What did your church do after George Floyd’s death? I don’t believe there is a one-size-fits-all-faithful response, yet I do believe we are called to respond. Now that racism is front and center nearly every hour of every day, can you imagine worshiping and engaging our small groups together without hearing a word about it? When we honestly and openly engage the real issues of our lives, disciples in churches respect our churches, recognizing we are not afraid of reality. When churches avoid these kinds of issues out of fear of controversy, disciples either verbally or silently discount the value of their church experience, recognizing irrelevancy when they see it.

Relevance grows when we banish the fear, start where we are, and directly increase our ability to engage the issues of our lives.

For some churches, they are already in the zone, living into the intent of this article. For other churches, this kind of talk strikes fear in their hearts, recognizing their inability to manage these topics in healthy ways. If that’s where your church is, then that’s where you are. The first step is to recognize your lack of experience in addressing sensitive issues, followed by a determination to grow your capacity. Learning to talk about our discomfort with talking about uncomfortable issues may be our next step. That’s okay. Let’s start where we are, strengthening our muscles for heavier lifting.

Relevance grows when we join God’s mission to bring the kingdom to earth as it is in heaven.

How much do you believe the gospel of Jesus Christ has the power within it to address systemic racism? How much do we believe the gospel can empower us to love our neighbors who vote differently than us? How much do we believe the gospel is meant for bringing justice to the oppressed and setting the prisoners free? When we catch a vision for this world’s renewal because of the gospel of Jesus, then the church’s relevance grows exponentially. Respect for our churches, regardless of worship style or how people dress, is directly related to our willingness to participate with God’s mission to remake planet earth toward the kingdom of God. Though this is long-term gospel work; IT IS gospel work nevertheless.

So, it’s not just people under age 40. All of us hunger for churches enlivened by God’s grace with a passion for tilting this world toward the reign of God. So, when we authentically engage life as we know it with the power of the gospel, we don’t really care if pastors wear skinny jeans or robes with stoles. Genuine relevance is relevant all the time.